Apparatus for mounting and locking a folding stock on a rifle



Feb. 20, 1968 A. MILLER 3,369,316

APPARATUS FOR MOUNTING AND LOCKING A FOLDING STOCK ON A RIFLE Filed April 29, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR i Arthur Mi/ler A'i'roRNEYs A. MILLER 3,369,316

Feb. 20, 1968 APPARATUS 'FOR MOUNTING AND LOCKING A FOLDING STOCK ON A RIFLE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 29, 1966 I Q L II I! II II [I Fig. 4

INVENTOR Arthur Miller A. MILLER Feb, 20, 1968 'APPARATUS FOR MOUNTING AND LOCKING A FOLDING STOCK ON A RIFLE 4 Sheets-Sheet Filed April 29, 1966 Fig. 6

w9 TTORNEYS IN VE N TOR Arthur Mil/er FAQ m A. MILLER I Feb. 20, 1968 APPARATUS FOR MOUNTING AND LOCKING A FOLDING STOCK ON A RIFLE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 29, 1966 EQR R60 QESRQQ INVENTOR Arthur Mil/er BY My TTORNEYS United States Patent 3,369,316 APPARATUS FOR MOUNTING AND LOCKING A FOLDING STOCK ON A RIFLE Arthur Miller, Costa Mesa, Calif., assignor to Armalite, Inc., Costa Mesa, Califi, a corporation of California Filed Apr. 29, 1966, Ser. No. 546,386 Claims. (Cl. 42-72) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE along the side of the receiver and an additional locking means is provided to lock the butt stock in an extended position with respect to the receiver.

This invention relates to an apparatus for mounting and locking a stock on a rifle and, more particularly, to an apparatus for pivotally mounting a butt stock on the lower receiver assembly of a rifle and for locking the butt stock in a folded or extended position with respect to the receiver.

The desirability of providing a rifle that can be fired from the hip as well as from the shoulders has generally been recognized. For example, there are many rifles in use today which may be fired both automatically and semi-automatically. When a rifle of this type is used for automatic firing, it is often preferred to fire it from the hip rather than from the shoulder, in which case the butt stock can hinder effective use if left in the shoulder position. For automatic firing, therefore, it is desirable to have the butt stock fold flat against the side of the receiver.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a hinge arrangement for a rifle which permits pivotal movement of the butt stock of the rifle with respect to the receiver thereof.

It is another object of this invention to provide locking means which can lock the butt stock in an extended position on the receiver, so that the rifle may be fired from the shoulder; or in a folded position along the side of the receiver, so that the rifle may be fired from the hip.

It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus of the above type which is simple and rugged in construction and reliable in operation.

It is also an object of this invention to facilitate the handling or firing of the rifle in confined quarters, such as tanks, trucks, etc. In addition, the compactness of a rifle with folded butt stock is much better suited for paratroop use, i.e., in cases where the paratrooper jumps with the weapon strapped to his side.

Briefly summarized, the present invention features the use of a hinge assembly mounted on each of the receiver and the butt stock of the rifle. The hinge assemblies have cooperating lugs through which a hinge pin extends to permit pivotal movement of the butt stock on the receiver between an extended position and a folded position. A locking means is provided to lock the butt stock in the folded position along the side of the receiver, this locking means consisting essentially of a post fixed on the receiver and adapted to engage a snap fastener fixed on the butt stock. The hinge assemblies also have cooperating parts which permit the locking of the butt stock in an extended position on the receiver. These parts include a pair of cammed plungers mounted for reciprocal movement in 3,369,316 Patented Feb. 20, 1968 F CC a bore formed in the receiver hinge assembly, and a pair of openings formed in the butt stock hinge assembly into which the plungers extend to lock the butt stock with respect to the receiver. Also provided on the butt stock hinge assembly are a pair of outwardly extending flanges which are arranged to cam the plungers inwardly upon the butt stock approaching the extended position, so that they may subsequently move into the locking position.

Further and other objects will become apparent from the description of the accompanying drawings in which the numerals refer to like parts.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the butt stock and receiver portions of the rifle;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the rifle shown in FIG. 1 with the phantom lines showing the butt stock along the receiver after it has been rotated about the hinge in the direction indicated by the arrow;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side elevation partially in section of the butt stock and the receiver and butt stock hinge assemblies;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view through the snap fastener and locking post;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the hinge assemblies;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of part of the butt stock hinge assembly taken along 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the receiver hinge assembly taken along 77 of FIG. 5;

FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 are views depicting the operation of thehinge assemblies as viewed from the opposite side of the rifle from that shown in FIG. 1, and showing the operation of plungers 34, flanges 40, and openings 38 in the closing position, locking position and opening position, respectively.

Referring to the drawings, and especially to FIGS. l-3, the reference number 10 represents the lower receiver assembly of a rifle and 12, the butt stock thereof. Butt stock 12 is pivotally mounted on receiver 10 for movement between an extended position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, and by the solid lines in FIG. 2, in which the rifle may be fired from the shoulder; to a folded position as shown by the phantom lines in FIG. 2, in which the rifle may be fired from the hip. This movement is permitted by use of a receiver hinge assembly 14 mounted on'the end of receiver 10, and cooperating with a butt stock hinge assembly 16 secured to the end of butt stock '12 by means of an elongated screw 18 in threaded engagement with the butt stock hinge assembly, and extending through the length of the stock as shown in FIG. 3. The receiver hinge assembly 14 has a lug 20 formed on one side thereof and the butt stock hinge assembly has a pair of lugs 22 likewise formed on one side thereof. Lug 20 and lugs 22 are arranged so that they together define a bore through which hinge pin 24 extends to provide pivotal movement of the butt stock 12 on receiver 10.

Also provided is a notched post 26 which is fixed to receiver 22 and adapted to cooperate with a snap fastener 28 fixed on butt stock 12 to lock the butt stock 12 in its folded position. As seen in FIG. 4, wire springs 30 are provided on snap fastener 28 which snap over and into the V-notch 32 on post 26 to effect the locking.

Thus, the butt stock 12 may be easily moved to and locked in its folded position by manually pivoting the butt stock about hinge pin 24 until post 26 engages snap fastener 28. When it is desired to release the butt stock from this folded position, manual pressure is applied outwardly to the butt stock until the snap fastener is released from post 26.

The receiver hinge assembly 14 and the butt stock hinge assembly 16 are each further provided with means which cooperate to permit the locking of the butt stock 14 in its extended position. These means are better shown in FIGS. 5-10 and includes a pair of cammed plungers 34 slidably mounted in a bore formed at a side of the receiver hinge assembly 14 opposite from the side on which lug 20 is formed. Each of plungers 34 is biased outwardly from the bore by means of a spring 36, this outward movement being limited by pins 37 disposed in a notch formed in plungers 34. Butt stock hinge assembly 16 is provided with a pair of openings 38 at the side thereof opposite lugs 22, and a pair of flanges 40 extending outwardly from its end forward of said openings. These flanges act to cam plungers 34 inwardly upon pivotal movement of butt stock 12 to its extended position as shown by the arrow in FIGS. 5 and 8, this movement being shown in opposite directions as viewed in FIGS. 5 and 8 due to the fact that these respective figures are views taken from opposite sides of the rifle. Upon the butt stock subsequently reaching its full extended position the plungers are brought into registry with openings 38- provided in butt stock hinge assembly 16, and are thus biased upwardly into these openings as shown in FIG. 9, thereby locking the butt stock 12 in its extended position with respect to the receiver 10.

When it is desired to release this lock in order to permit movement of butt stock 12 from its extended position, the plungers 34 are manually pressed downwardly against the action of spring 36 as shown in FIG. until they are clear of openings 38, thus permitting further pivotal movement of the butt stock about hinge pin 24.

It is to be understood that the locations of the parts of the two above-mentioned locking means may be reversed within the scope of the invention. For example, post 26 may be fixed to the butt stock and snap fastener 28, to the receiver.

Of course, further variations of the specific construction and arrangement of the apparatus herein disclosed can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a rifle having a receiver and a butt stock, the improvement comprising a first hinge member extending from the rearward end of said receiver; a second hinge member extending from the forward end of said butt stock; means connected to each of said hinge members for providing pivotal movement therebetween so that said butt stock may be pivoted with respect to said receiver between a folded position adjacent the side of said receiver and an extended position; first locking means for locking said butt stock to said receiver in said folded position; and second locking means for locking said butt stock to said receiver in said extended position; said second locking means comprising at least one plunger slidably mounted on the rear end of said receiver, resilient means urging said plunger outwardly from said receiver, at least one outwardly extending flange mounted on the front end of said butt stock, the free end of said flange adapted to cam said plunger inwardly upon said butt stock approaching said extended position, and at least one opening formed in said flange for receiving said plunger to lock said butt stock in said extended position.

2. The improvement of claim 1 wherein said first locking means comprises a notched post fixed to the side of said receiver a spaced distance from said connecting means, and a snap fastener for engaging said post, said fastener being fixed to the side of said butt stock the same distance from said connecting means as said post.

3. In a rifle having a receiver and a butt stock, the improvement comprising a first hinge assembly mounted on the rear end of said receiver, a second hinge assembly mounted on the front end of said butt stock, and a hinge pin, each of said hinge assemblies comprising a hinge member connected to said hinge pin to provide pivotal movement of said butt stock with respect to said receiver between a folded position adjacent the side of said receiver and an extended position; one of said hinge assemblies further comprising at least one spring biased plunger normally extending outwardly therefrom; the other hinge assembly further comprising means to cam said plunger inwardly upon said butt stock approaching said extended position, said other hinge assembly having an opening for receiving said plunger to lock said butt stock in said extended position.

4. The improvement of claim 3 further comprising a notched post fixed to the side of said receiver a spaced distance from said hinge pin, and a snap fastener fixed to the side of said butt stock the same distance from said hinge pin as said post, said snap fastener engaging said post in said folded position to lock said butt stock to said receiver.

5. The improvement of claim 3 further comprising a notched post fixed to the side of said butt stock a spaced distance from said hinge pin, and a snap fastener fixed to the side of said receiver the same distance from said hinge pin as said post, said snap fastener engaging said post in said folded position to lock said butt stock to said receiver.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,293,128 8/1942 Fortin 4272 2,374,621 4/1945 Reising 4272 2,424,944 7/ 1947 Patchett 4272 2,462,091 2/1949 Garand 4272 3,201,887 8/1965 SedeloW 4272 BEN] AMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner. 

